The Indian Himalayan town of Joshimath was declared a disaster-prone area on Monday as dozens of families were shifted to temporary shelters after land subsidence caused large cracks to open in homes and buildings.
Cracks began to appear in buildings and roads in Joshimath months ago but have widened at an alarming rate in recent days. Out of 4,500 buildings in the town, more than 600 are damaged. Many of them are oozing brown muddy water.
Authorities have declared 229 homes unfit for living and moved nearly 70 families to shelters overnight.
Some residents in the town of about 20,000 people have been spending nights outdoors despite winter temperatures of about 4°C, for fear their homes may collapse on them in their sleep.
Joshimath lies at an altitude of 2,000 metres in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and is on the route to many popular Hindu pilgrimage sites in the mountainous state.
Himanshu Khurana, the district’s top official, said government experts would visit Joshimath on Monday to assess the problem.
“Two teams from the central government are arriving here for a survey of the prevailing sinking condition,” Mr Khurana said.
The prime minister’s office called a meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation in Joshimath and advised the state government to “establish a clear and continuous communication channel with the residents”.
The central government said people's safety was the immediate priority and asked experts to prepare short and long-term conservation and rehabilitation plans.
Joshimath residents have blamed the construction of the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydroelectric project in the area for the land subsidence.
Last February a glacier burst caused a deadly flash flood in the region. As many as 200 people were killed, including 80 who were trapped in a tunnel that was under construction.
“We had been asking the authorities to stop the construction of the tunnel. Ever since they started the digging, the cracks started,” resident Harendra Rana told The National.
India's National Thermal Power Corporation, which is developing the project, denies causing the subsidence.
“The tunnel built by NTPC does not pass under Joshimath town. This tunnel is dug by a tunnel-boring machine and no blasting is being carried out presently,” it said.
A Hindu religious leader, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, has asked the Supreme Court to declare the situation in Joshimath a national disaster and to order financial assistance to the residents.
His plea has been listed for hearing on Tuesday.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
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England 12-man squad for second Test
v West Indies which starts Thursday: Rory Burns, Joe Denly, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (captain), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jack Leach
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Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Company%20Profile
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The specs
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Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Company%20profile
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
